Colbert Fossil Plant

Colbert Fossil Plant is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) near the Pickwick Reservoir on the Tennessee River in Alabama.

The Colbert power station has five coal-fired generating units and "net dependable generating capacity" of approximately 1,198 megawatts. TVA states that "the plant consumes some 7,200 tons of coal a day." Construction of the Colbert power station commenced in 1951 and was commissioned in 1973. According to the TVA the "plant consumes about 8,900 tons of coal a day."

Plant Data

 * Owner/Parent Company: Tennessee Valley Authority
 * Plant Nameplate Capacity: 1,350 MW
 * Units and In-Service Dates: 200 MW (1955), 200 MW (1955), 200 MW (1955), 200 MW (1955), 550 MW (1965)
 * Location: 900 Colbert Steam Plant Rd., Tuscumbia, AL 35674
 * GPS Coordinates: 34.741, -87.849389
 * Coal Consumption:
 * Coal Source:
 * Number of Employees:

Emissions Data

 * 2006 CO2 Emissions: 8,312,926 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions: 39,942 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
 * 2006 NOx Emissions: 14,728 tons
 * 2005 Mercury Emissions: 220 lb.

"High Hazard" Surface Impoundment
In July 2009, TVA reclassified the surface impoundment at Colbert as having High Hazard Potential. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not assess of the likelihood of such an event. TVA had originally ranked all of its sites as "low" risk, but revised those rankings two weeks after the EPA released its list of 44 "high hazard" coal ash dumps.

Study finds dangerous level of hexavalent chromium at Colbert Plant waste site
A report released by EarthJustice and the Sierra Club in early February 2011 stated that there are many health threats associated with a toxic cancer-causing chemical found in coal ash waste called hexavalent chromium. The report specifically cited 29 sites in 17 states where the contamination was found. The information was gathered from existing EPA data on coal ash and included locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virgina and Wisconsin. In Alabama, the TVA Colbert Fossil Plant in Tuscambia and the TVA Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Stevenson were both reported as having high levels of chromium seeping from unlined retention ponds.

According to EPA data, the TVA Colbert Fossil Fuel Plant's coal ash site is unlined. Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was reported at the site above 100 ppb (parts per billion) - 5,000 times the proposed California drinking water goals and above the federal drinking water standard.

As a press release about the report read:


 * Hexavalent chromium first made headlines after Erin Brockovich sued Pacific Gas & Electric because of poisoned drinking water from hexavalent chromium. Now new information indicates that the chemical has readily leaked from coal ash sites across the U.S. This is likely the tip of the iceberg because most coal ash dump sites are not adequately monitored.

Citizen Groups
See also Alabama and coal
 * Black Warrior Riverkeeper
 * GASP (formerly Alabama First)

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * Alabama and coal
 * Tennessee Valley Authority
 * United States and coal
 * Global warming